Entries Tagged 'Elections' ↓

Well isn’t that the $64 thousand dollar question?

The rumor mill going around is that Billie is being actively recruited.

Is this bad? No, and while I prefer a candidate that isn’t Republican Light, he is the only Democrat in the state with enough clout to challenge her, especially if he gets the National Party behind him.

Noem is beatable, but you have to convice the indies and moderate Republicans in the state who haven’t been happy with the crazy Trump train she has been driving.

Hopefully if Sutton is running he will announce ASAP. There is NO time to waste.

For a guy who hasn’t made an official announcement, some wonder why TenHaken has raised so much money.

TenHakens July 6, 2021 Finance report

I guess O’ Shucksberg and Heels have some money laying around to.

Maybe Paul is waiting to break $100K before he officially announces so he knows for sure the super rich in town still support him and cruise control government

Recently I have been asked by some people in the community my thoughts and maybe some help in getting ranked choice voting in Sioux Falls. I am opposed to it, but would love to be a part of the conversation.

It’s not that I don’t understand how it works, it’s not as complicated as it may sound.

My opposition is that when I vote for a candidate, that is the candidate I chose. Not only do I rarely have a 2nd and 3rd choice, I sometimes don’t even have a number one choice. I have often left that portion of the ballot blank. A few years ago in a school board election as soon as the ballot was handed to me, I threw it in the box without marking any candidates.

I guess I struggle with electing people based on being ‘second best’. We should only be voting for the people we feel is most qualified, and as a community we should actively be finding ways to recruit the best candidates.

It’s not that we have a problem with the election process in Sioux Falls, we have problem with finding effective leaders to run.

There have been a lot of moles telling me he has been telling people he is running and raising money, and NOT for governor.

Whether this is true or not, it should not surprise anyone. He has been chomping at the bit to get back at city hall.

It will certainly set up an interesting scenario, especially with Erickson also looking to run for the position.

I still stick by my prediction that Paul will not run for re-election. I guess he has been getting advice from friends on whether to run or not.

I think if Paul decides to bail, you will see a whole host of people running besides Bucktooth and Bowlcut and Heels. I think you could see a possibility of 8 solid candidates. I also don’t think Mike’s chances are as good this time around. If you look back just on his 2^nd term he had a mountain of failures like The EC siding fiasco (still not fixed) and the fact that the revenue from the place is practically zilch and no development is in that area, also the Bunker Ramp, Administration Building HVAC, ignoring the water plant upgrades, transparency, etc, etc.

If Paul does decide to run against Mike and Christine, I still think he has the power of incumbency on his side and will win easily. Either way, whether it is Paul, Mike or Christine, were screwed in any scenario.

Gotta love my city hall moles, I guess Christine has been running her gums about challenging Paul in the halls of city gov. I’m still on the fence, 1) I don’t think she is dumb enough to challenge a popular incumbent, BUT, 2) I also think he will bail and she will be waiting in the wings.

I really believe he has had it with a real job making a paltry wage and I think she is salivating at the opportunity. But if they go head on head, this could be the most entertaining mayoral race in a long time.

Maybe we should throw Stehly and Starr in the ring? Let’s have a full on Sh!t show!

UPDATE: Looks like Parker and Murren will be our board members.

As I predicted, turnout was awful;

Turnout: 5.13 %

6,133 registered voters cast ballots

119,511 Registered Voters for the 2021 School Election

Murren leads right now by a wide margin and will likely win one of the seats, the other is a toss up. I ended up voting for Parker as my 2nd choice.

When I hear things like this, I often shake my head and wonder why we have so much money in a school board race;

According to the four pre-election campaign finance reports filed Monday, so far, school board candidates have raised more than $35,000.

Notable contributions include former mayor Mike Huether and Augustana University president Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin giving to Anthony Pizer, while CEO of First PREMIER Bank Dana Dykhouse gave to both Pizer and Marc Murren.

I find it troubling that a position that pays very little has so much money going towards the race. When it comes to money in races like this, in which probably around 5-10% of qualified voters will even cast a ballot you have to wonder what the donors are trying to buy, especially in a district in which almost half of the students are on FREE or reduced lunches and many are living in poverty. Wouldn’t the $35k be more useful towards the food banks or youth mentorship programs?

The only thing the school board has successfully really accomplished over the past few years is higher taxes. I will admit that we do have a pretty good public school system in Sioux Falls when compared to the rest of the country, but I also think the school board needs to work on efficiency when it comes to how our money is spent.

I hope more people vote, but when you only have ‘voting centers’ in the Southern part of the city, we know how this rolls.

I am glad that many candidates are running, and that is one positive. I still have only endorsed Marc Murren and am still mulling over who my second choice would be.

Many people within the city administration are starting to wonder if Paul is even interested in a 2^nd term. Who files paperwork to run, asks for money then when questioned by several media sources if he is running for a 2^nd term he blows them off. If he really was interested in a 2^nd term, he would have at least put out a press release saying he WILL run for a 2^nd term but will make an official announcement later this summer. I still think he hasn’t made up his mind.

He certainly hasn’t been having much fun fighting flooding, tornados and Covid, and from listening to him grunt and groan at the city council meetings, he certainly doesn’t like being there either. I think being mayor takes a person who likes social interaction. I think Mayors Huether and Munson truly enjoyed that part of the job, Paul seems to be uncomfortable with it. If he decides to not run, which is looking like more and more he isn’t, I wonder who they will recruit to run in his place. This could get pretty juicy.

What is interesting is that Paul moved the money he had left over from his first term into his PAC and I can’t find anywhere where that money was moved back.

In another bizarre move, he is having his state of the city address at the State Theater and it will only live stream on the city’s Facebook page. And good luck finding a seat once all the city employees fill it up.

Minnehaha County Commissioner Jeff Barth informed me yesterday that Sioux Falls City Councilor Neitzert, Mayor TenHaken, Minnehaha County States attorney Dan Haggar and Sioux Falls City Attorney Stacy Kooistra have been cooking up a proposal with the help of the Municipal League to ask the Minnehaha County Commission to put a Moratorium on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries until after January 1, 2022.

They do have some fair arguments. First off the July 1st implementation of the law is quickly approaching and the city and county has yet to set up licensing fees and licenses for these establishments. So instead of having secret meetings, how about trying public meetings to get the job done?!

While it is fair to say that they can ask for a small delay, those delays are usually only good for 30 days.

Barth told me he would NOT vote for it if it did get on the agenda and also told me he trying to make sure it is not done in the dark of the night in an executive session.

The biggest issue with this is that we have known since November that this is legal and the Governor’s office and legislature farted around way too long.

They need to get it in high gear and figure out how it will be regulated by the state, ASAP, and the county and city need to move fast and determine the licensing instead of having secret meetings about how they want to delay this.

What baffles me is that Medical and even Recreational is inevitable, and instead of dragging our feet we must act as elected officials to make sure this is implemented July 1st because of the will of the voters.

Hopefully we will hear more about this idiotic move in the coming week. I do know that Barth has been talking with both TV stations about the issue.

I found it a bit odd that Paul still hasn’t announced if he is running yet is sending out fundraiser emails;

A campaign email from “TenHaken for Mayor” was sent to supporters Monday although the Sioux Falls mayor has yet to announce his reelection bid.

In an email to supporters, TenHaken says “Sioux Falls is poised for great things” and asks for a contribution to help him “keep Sioux Falls moving ahead.” TenHaken has not announced his reelection bid and says any announcement is still months away in a statement to Dakota News Now.

“Formal decisions and announcements on reelection are still months away, but it’s also prudent to be looking ahead. My primary focus is leading the City and making sure we remain a vibrant and thriving community for the years ahead of us,” says TenHaken.

Here is a copy of the email;

Friend,

I wanted to send a quick note to thank you for your past support and also, ask you to consider helping me in my efforts to keep Sioux Falls moving forward in the years ahead. 

Together, we have accomplished so much. Our economy is thriving, the quality of life amenities in our city continue to grow, we’ve weathered the challenges of flooding, tornadoes, community unrest, and the current pandemic. Sioux Falls is poised for great things, and I need your help again today so that we can continue to succeed.

Will you consider a contribution today to help me keep Sioux Falls moving ahead?*

We live in an incredible community and have much to be thankful for. I’m thankful everyday for the honor to serve as your mayor and I’m especially thankful for the support and prayers from friends like you. 

Onward!

Paul

*Individuals/entities may contribute up to $1,000 per calendar year.

Paid for by:
TenHaken for Mayor
PO Box 961
Sioux Falls, SD 57101-0961

So while he is sending out fundraising emails, and filing yesterday his intent to run for a 2nd term he tells the media that his announcement is ‘months away’. Of course, he doesn’t become an actual candidate until he receives his first donations, but that may have already happened.

If you filed the legal documentation to run, and are raising money for that run, why wait several months to announce? Not sure what his mysterious strategy is but not surprising after seeing how he has ran this city on cruise control the past 2.5 years.